Senior Vice President Robert Lindyberg, PhD, PE, and Senior Research Scientist Afshin Karshenas, PhD, are participating this week in the PIANC Smart Rivers Conference (Pittsburgh, PA), where they will present an update on FDH Velocitel’s research collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), on the nondestructive evaluation of dams with post-tensioned trunnion anchorage systems, as well as a project involving nondestructive testing to characterize the extent of vertical cracking in aging lock monoliths. For more information on the conference schedule and presentations, visit the PIANC Smart Rivers website. For more information on FDHV’s nondestructive testing capabilities for critical structures, visit the FDHV website.

The 40-person task force, representing a broad spectrum of industry professionals, convened this week in Dallas to develop the new credentialing program.

NWSA reports that the new program “will provide an independent nationwide certification for industry workers who supervise crews that work on communications structures, whether they are antenna and line crews, construction crews, or structural modification crews.”

Doty, a business leader for FDH Velocitel and its broadcast subsidiary Stainless, as well as president of the NWSA Board of Directors, said, “It is seldom that such a broad cross-section of the industry is gathered in one place for a single purpose, to develop the criteria that define the knowledge, skill and ability of a communication tower foreman. Carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, US Cellular), vertical real estate owners (ATC, Crown Castle, SBA), engineers, large and small general contractors, lawyers, consultants, training companies and many more, all have a seat at the table. I am privileged to be a part of this effort.”

The certification program is expected to take many months to develop, and the task force members will play a key role in building industry consensus and developing competency tests and related validation processes, with the end goal of achieving accreditation for the certification program under the ANSI 17024 Standard.

For more information on the new certification program and its development timetable, please visit the NWSA website.

FDH Velocitel’s Jeff Clymer, P.E., and Rakesh Khan, P.E., are presenting “The Value of Nondestructive Testing of Unknown Transmission Foundations” at the Transmission & Substation Design and Operations Symposium (TSDOS), September 6-8, 2017, in Frisco, TX. Clymer and Khan review a recent case where a lattice tower foundation was found to be insufficient during reconductoring of existing lines and how FDHV used a proprietary NDT method to evaluate the foundation condition and recommend a solution to augment the foundation without taking the line out of service. Clymer is Vice President of T&D Services. Khan is Director of Engineering, Heavy Civil Division. For more information on FDHV’s nondestructive solutions for transmission structures, visit the website.

Stainless’ Don Doty presents “Prepping Your Tower for the Repack” at TAB2017, August 10, in Austin. Doty, regulatory compliance advisor and 43-year industry veteran, will review the Federal Communications Commission’s transition schedule, typical tower modifications, and new tower standards, such as ANSI/A10.48, that impact rigging plans and crew training. For more information on Stainless, a business division of FDH Velocitel, and its solutions for the broadcast industry, visit their website.